Paper short abstract:

This paper will focus on how local communities mobilized and responded to the twin-threats of extremist attacks and inter-communal clashes in Jos and Kafanchan, two contested urban centres in central Nigeria. It empirically examines how non-state security groups manage to secure their localities.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will focus on non-state security groups (NSSGs) in Jos and Kafanchan, two contested urban areas in central Nigeria. Both settings are enmeshed in indigene-settler conflicts that have translated into bouts of large-scale violence over the last three decades. Unlike Jos, however, Kafanchan has not experienced any bombing by Boko Haram. Looking at NSSGs in these two settings side by side promises to be interesting and can serve as a window for peering into informal security governance in volatile urban settings. Of particular interest is how the longstanding conflicts in these areas shaped patterns of responses to Boko Haram attacks and how in turn the collective fear, anxiety and suspicion they spurred fed into existing inter-group animosities. Also worthy of attention is how Boko Haram attacks in Jos counter-intuitively forged cooperation across religious boundaries and contributed to dousing the scourge of large-scale riots. Looking at NSSGs in areas with histories of inter-group conflict can advance our understanding of the complex nature of civilian security networks in urban settings and the contextual factors that serve as the crucible for their emergence, development and survival. The paper draws from extensive fieldwork that involves Key informant interviews, mobile interviewing, observation, and FGDs in some of the most violent neighbourhoods and flashpoints in the two areas of interest.